“I’m not hiding anything.”
“The fuck you aren’t.” I turn my attention to the men. "Someone knows something. I’ll reward anyone who can give me information."
The butler shifts his weight. "Sir, if I may… perhaps Miss Kean was just checking on the little one? Miss Brigit, I mean."
My jaw clenches. "At three in the morning? Half-dressed. No one visits a child dressed like that. Try again."
“I was in my pajamas?—”
My jaw clenches. “I know. I saw you. Remember what it did to me?” I lean toward her. “Remember what it felt like pressed against you?”
She sniffs and looks at me with disdain.
The remaining staff exchange uncomfortable glances. They're hiding something. I can smell the deception, but what is it? And why protect Keira after I've taken control? Is it just loyalty?
I scan their faces one by one. Someone in this room knows the truth about Keira's midnight wanderings. And I'm going to find out who.
I yank Keira against me, her back to my chest, her body flush with mine. "You see, gentlemen, Miss Kean here thinks she can fool me. But I know exactly what kind of woman she is."
My fingers dig into her waist. She tries to wrench away, but I hold firm.
"The kind who spreads her legs for anyone who'll give her attention." I drag my nose along her neck, breathing her in while watching the men's reactions. "Isn't that right, sweetheart?"
"Let go of me." She struggles harder.
"Why? So you can run back to whatever pathetic excuse for a man you've been letting touch you?" I reach around and push her chin up. "Look at them. Is it one of them? Have you been letting the help satisfy your needs?"
None of the men do anything.
"You're disgusting." Keira spits the words.
"Am I? I'm not the one sneaking around in the middle of the night wearing next to nothing.” I slide my hand over her belly, up just below her tit. “Tell me, does he know how to make you scream?"
A collective intake of breath from the men. Good. Let her lover reveal himself through his anger.
"I bet he's gentle with you." I trace her bottom lip with my thumb. "Treats you like you're made of glass. But we both know that's not what you really want, is it?"
Keira's eyes flash with rage and something else, hurt maybe, but I don't care. I need to know who she's been with, who dared touch what belongs to me.
"You want it rough." I tug her hair, exposing her throat. "You want to be owned. And trust me, Princess, by the time I'm done with you, everyone will know exactly whom you belong to."
Keira's face goes blank, her earlier fire extinguished. She stares past me like I'm nothing but air, and something in my chest constricts. This isn't the reaction I wanted. I need her angry, need to see that spark of defiance.
"Nothing to say?" I release her hair but keep her pinned against me. "Where's that sharp tongue of yours now?"
She blinks, slow and deliberate. The staff watch our exchange with growing unease, but still, no one steps forward. No one defends her honor.
"Look at them." I sweep my arm toward the men. "Not one of them has the balls to stand up for you. Is this really who you've given yourself to? Some coward who won't even claim you?"
Nothing. Not even a flinch. Not even from her.
Her indifference irks me more than her smart mouth and defiant attitude. I spin her to face me, searching her eyes for any crack in her mask.
"A real man would fight for you." My fingers dig into her shoulders. "He'd tear me apart for touching you like this. But these pathetic excuses for men just stand there and watch. Is that what you want? Someone weak?"
She lifts her chin, but her eyes remain distant, detached. Like I'm beneath her notice.
Rage burns through my veins. "Answer me!"
